Ski racks are typically placed on the roofs of automobiles, such as cars and vans, in order to preserve ample space within the automobile for passenger room and other cargo. Unfortunately, the height and location of the roof-mounted ski racks make accessing the racks difficult. For example, a skier typically has to open an automobile door and stand on the floor of the automobile while straddling the side and roof of the automobile in order to position and fasten the ski racks over the roof.
Some ski racks are positioned at a more accessible location on the automobile. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,257 to Parker shows a ski rack device which is positioned over a wheel well in the bed of a pickup truck with pairs of skis horizontally spaced from one another. Such an arrangement, however, is impractical within an automobile where space is at a premium because the horizontally spaced skis will tend to encroach on a passenger's seat space. Another drawback is that the outside location of the ski rack makes the skis maintained thereon easily accessible to potential thieves. U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,997 to Michael shows a ski rack adapted for use in a van. Front and back brackets are used to support skis against a wall of the van. However, such an arrangement cannot be employed where the van has a rear wheel well encroaching the space on the sidewall where one of the brackets is to be mounted.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a ski rack to be mounted within an automobile which avoids the drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art references.